Latest 5 Poems of Virginia Prickett

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Virginia Prickett's last comments on poems and poets

Many years ago I copied this poem into my journal because it sounded so real to my experience. Three months ago my husband of nearly sixty years died. And once again these words echo truth in my heart:

'Young fantasies of magic and of mystery
Are over. But they really can't compete
With all we've built together: A long history.
Connections that help render us complete.
Ties that hold and heal us. And the sweet,
Sweet pleasures of an ordinary life. '

Cynara is first of all the proper name for the Globe artichoke, but we can assume Dowson wasn't calling his love a thistle. Wikipedia has this to say, 'In 1889, Dowson fell in love with eleven-year-old Adelaide 'Missie' Foltinowicz, the daughter of a Polish restaurant owner. Adelaide is reputed to be the subject of one his best-known poems, Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae'

This powerdul poem was the underlying text of the recent Pulitzer Prize winner for the play, 'Wit' which dealt with a wintry academic scholar facing death with only the words of John Done's Holy Sonnets as comfort.